


Brief Encounter

by Selena



Category: Babylon 5, Doctor Who
Genre: Crossover, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-11-20
Updated: 2007-11-20
Packaged: 2017-10-03 10:31:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Selena/pseuds/Selena
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Doctor intervenes in the Earth/Minbari war.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Brief Encounter

**Author's Note:**

> Author's Notes:
> 
> Disclaimer: Characters and situations owned by the BBC and JMS, respectively.
> 
> **Timeline:** during _In the Beginning_ for _Babylon 5_; at any point during the 26th season for _Dr. Who_.
> 
> Originally written as part of a meme; the request was for the Seventh Doctor to meet Delenn.

To show up in the midst of a genocidal war against human kind wasn't the wisest thing to do, which was why the Doctor did it alone, without Ace. As it was, he was barely able to admire the unquestionable beauty of Minbari design before he was discovered on the Grey Council's ship, arrested, examined for devices which explained his presence and upon the discovery of his non-human anatomy brought before the youngest member of the Council, who usually dealt with the kind of phenomena which distracted the others from their war.

 

She asked him whether he was a spy. "Not really," he said. "Though I could tell you about Earth. All about Earth, in fact, which you might want to know. Given that you're about to destroy the planet. Rather a pity; they make excellent tea, and no one has ever rivalled their umbrellas, either."

 

"You have two hearts," she said, ignoring his words. "So you must be Centauri. Does this mean the Centauri chose to side with the humans at this late hour? Do you really want to see Centauri Prime come to ruin as well?"

 

Rather than terror or anger, both reactions she had expected, there was sadness in his expression when she spoke of Centauri Prime. Then it was gone, and he pursed his lips in what eerily resembled her late mentor's manner of counselling her.

 

"You really should brush up on other species, my dear. No, I am not Centauri. I do like the hair style, though. How about you?"

 

Her young face started to lose its stern determination and became bewildered, angry, with just a second of amusement lurking in her eyes before she became angry again.

 

"No, it wouldn't look good on you, I agree," the Doctor said. "Tell me, Delenn, what will you wear when your race has conquered Earth? Still grey? It won't be necessary any more, you know. All that blood will be gone, along with the people. You could wear white and it wouldn't get stained."

 

Her face closed off again, though she did not ask how he knew her name. "Do not lecture me on bloodshed. The humans murdered Dukhat, and when we reached out our hands in peace, they murdered our legate as well."

 

"Have you ever tried saying "exterminate" when you kill them?" he asked helpfully. "I know a species which uses it as a catchphrase. They are very honest, you see, if nothing else. They don't hide behind vendettas. They want to wipe out the rest of the galaxy because they truly believe nobody but them deserves to exist."

 

She was silent, and so was he. At last, she said: "Go, wherever you came from. I will not hinder you."

 

"The advantage of being an individual of free will," he replied, tipping his hat, "is that you can pick any point in the universe and make it the center of a new life. Any point at all."

 

A few hours later, the Battle of the Line started, but her mind was still with the strange encounter she had had. When they called her to witness the final phase, she did. And then she chose a point. A single small dot, a starfury with a pilot whose interrogation she ordered.

 

Years were to pass, though, before she wore white.


End file.
